I.N.E.T 5

by Brenda Cothern

  “About fifteen miles by interstate, nine by back roads, and seven cross-country,” Lita replied. “It doesn’t bother me whichever way we go.”

  “I didn’t think it would.” Randy gave his partner a smile. “Her on the other hand,” Randy paused. “Might slow us down if we go cross-country. In this weather, the easier the trek, even if it adds a few miles, the better. But the interstate is too visible and I think taking the back roads is a better option.”

  “Sounds good,” Lita agreed. He couldn’t fault Randy’s logic. The last thing he wanted to have to do was carry Burke’s ass cross-country to the safe house or deal with some innocent good Samarian on the interstate. “Give me one of those.” Lita nodded toward the two duffel bags Randy had slung over his shoulder.

  “I got ‘um,” Randy assured.

  He didn’t want Lita more encumbered than he already was by his bag. His partner was still injured and their protector if something happened. Randy didn’t think anything would, but then again, he’d been wrong with every thought so far where this case was concerned.

  “Burke can carry her’s then,” Lita insisted and met Randy’s gaze. It only took a few seconds for his partner to understand his request. If Burke had to carry her bag, she wouldn’t have a free hand and would likely tire enough not to try anything.

  “Can’t you, sweetheart?” Lita couldn’t help but goad her.

  “Fuck you, asshole,” Burke spat out and practically ripped her bag from Randy’s outstretched hand which held it.

  “You’re not…”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Burke interrupted with a sneer. “Not your type. I don’t have a dick for you to suck. I get it.”

  Lita chuckled. Burke had looked at Randy when she mentioned him sucking dick. He was sure she was trying to get a reaction out of Randy to cause strife between them. All his partner did was meet her steady gaze. Randy’s expression remained so neutral Lita couldn’t help but laugh again.

  “That’s right, sweetheart. Try to remember I like cock buried deep in my throat, so your offer isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

  Thankfully, Lita looked back at Burke before he mentioned swallowing cock. If he hadn’t, Randy had no doubt Lita would have seen his reaction which was full of nothing but want. Burke called Lita a ‘sick fuck’ and looked back at him as if Randy would support her opinion. He didn’t, of course. Lita’s comment and the visual of the man’s lips wrapped tightly around a cock, preferably his, wasn’t sick. No, it was fucking hot as hell and he didn’t need the tightening of his jeans to prove that was the case.

  “Let’s go.” Randy looked at Lita. “Lead the way.”

  Lita had no doubt over Randy’s reaction from his words. The man stared at him as if Lita was a gazelle and he was a hungry lion. It was a look Lita wanted to explore more closely when they had better light and a better location. He would get his chance, he was sure, and the sooner they reached the safe house, the sooner that chance would happen. So, he gave Randy a nod before turning to walk down the exit ramp with his partner and their WITSEC charge following.

  ##~~##

  Lita followed the directions on his Google Maps app. They were on some country bum fuck road. They would be for another three miles, too. Then they’d pick up another one to take them north. Lita wasn’t anti-country roads. He actually enjoyed places that were considered ‘in the sticks’ by most people. Tonight? In the fucking snow? Not so much.

  There wasn’t a single light in any direction aside from his damn phone when he pulled it out. He’d only looked at his phone twice since they left the interstate exit. There weren’t any roads aside from the one they walked and the one where they would turn to head north.

  The snow finally stopped dropping big wet flakes and what had already fallen was more annoying than anything else because it stuck to everything. So much so, that had there not been a ditch on the right which ran parallel to the road Lita was sure they would’ve ended up traveling cross-country whether they wanted to or not. The gravel road showed no trace of tire tracks for them to follow. If the ditch suddenly ended, Lita was sure they might be fucked.

  Neither Randy nor Burke said a word as they followed him through the snow. Lita was fine with that, but their silence didn’t mean he hadn’t occasionally glanced back over his shoulder to check on them. It was more than clear to him the last time he looked at them that Randy was putting one foot in front of the other by pure determination alone. Lita had seen and been in that mindset before. He didn’t know many who served in the military who hadn’t. Randy would pull through until they reached the safe house. Lita had no doubt since the man was a Marine, after all.

  Still, Lita didn’t need to like that his partner was working on pure determination autopilot. He had no worries Burke would take advantage of Randy’s current state of exhaustion. She wasn’t looking too good herself even though they had un-cuffed her from Randy so she could use her sweatshirt sleeves in an attempt to keep her hands warm. Knowing she was suffering just as much made Lita smile. He wasn’t sadistic, but as far as he was concerned, she brought the shit on herself. On all of them, for that matter.

  The cold wasn’t too bad even though their clothes were damp from where the snow soaked into them. Lita knew from experience that had it not snowed they would be colder. He put the temperature out of his mind because there wasn’t shit they could do about it. Instead, he glanced at his phone again.

  “Shit,” Lita mumbled under his breath. At some point in the last thirty minutes, he’d lost signal. Just what they didn’t need, regardless of Lita remembering the next two roads they had to take.

  Pinpricks of light in the distance pulled his focus away from recalling the map on his phone. They were the first lights they had seen since starting this trek and Lita had no doubt they belonged to a car. If they were lucky, the driver would be sympathetic to their plight and give them a lift back to civilization. He had plenty of cash to exchange for their inconvenience. Of course, he’d only get to offer it if they stopped. They may not since he and Randy weren’t small men by any means.

  The lights in the distance continued to grow in size. The car wasn’t going fast, but it wasn’t crawling along, either. Lita just continued to watch them even though they were going to screw his night vision as they got closer. The car kicking on its high beams did just that. It also told Lita the driver had spotted them. The driver would have seen them eventually, but Lita was impressed they had seen them while the car was still a good distance away. Lita understood how the driver’s perception was acute when red and blue lights joined the cars high beams.

  He wasn’t sure if he was relieved the approaching vehicle was a cop. Their interaction was about to go one of two ways. The cop would ask them minimal questions and help them out or he would see Burke being perp walked between them and they would end up explaining while looking down the barrel of the man’s gun. If the cop was worth his salt at all, they would end up on the business end of his weapon.

  The cop car stopped roughly twenty feet from them. A moment later, a big burly man stepped out. Lita could read concern and caution on the man’s face before his expression was plunged into darkness when he moved out of his red and blues.

  “What you folks doing way out here?”

  The cop stopped about ten feet from them. He didn’t bother to look past them for a broken-down vehicle. Instead, he stood with one hand resting on the butt of his gun. Lita didn’t blame the older man. He’d be cautious too, if he’d stumbled across someone his size out in the middle of nowhere.

  “Our car broke down,” Lita replied.

  “And where was that?”

  “Back at the interstate.”

  Lita had removed his hands from the warmth of his jacket before the cop’s car even stopped, so he was able to wave back over his shoulder. It was dark, but Lita had no problem reading the surprise on the man’s face. He didn’t miss the surprise morphing into a frown and the cop’s gaze growing more suspicious, either. They would have found h
elp more quickly had they walked down the interstate.

  “We decided to take the shortest route to our destination,” Lita informed before the man could ask.

  “And where would that be?”

  “Redding,” Randy answered from behind Lita.

  “Why don’t you and the lady come on out here into the light where I can get a good look at you.”

  Lita had already started to move his hands away from his sides when he felt Randy maneuvering Burke out from behind him. There was no doubt the cop was about to freak out once he realized Burke’s hands were cuffed. Even though she was using her sweatshirt sleeves to keep her hands warm, there was no missing that handcuffs wrapped around her wrists. The lights from the headlights glinted off the metal and Lita wasn’t surprised when the cop pulled his gun and pointed it directly at the center of his chest. He was the larger threat, after all.

  Yep, option two, Lita thought.

  ##~~##

  Chapter Seven

  “Let me see your hands.”

  Lita knew the order wasn’t for him or Burke to follow, so Randy must have been holding onto the back of Burke’s jacket. He was waiting for the pain in the ass woman to start telling some bullshit story about how they had abducted her or some shit like that. Lita was surprised when she remained silent.

  “With respect, officer, I can’t let go of my charge,” Randy informed at the same time he showed the cop at least one of his hands. “We are US Marshals tasked with this woman’s safety even though she doesn’t wish to be in WITSEC.” Randy watched the cop look away from him just long enough to glance at Lita. “We have ID,” Randy added.

  The cop held out his other hand. “Slowly,” he ordered Lita.

  Lita kept one hand out, still spread and slowly moved his other toward the zipper of his leather jacket. “Going to unzip. My ID is in my inside pocket,” Lita informed the cop. “I’m also wearing a shoulder holster.” He was sure to add because he didn’t want the cop to suddenly get an itchy trigger finger once he spotted his holster straps or gun when he opened his jacket.

  The cop nodded. “Slow, then.”

  Lita gave him a nod in return and retrieved his fake Marshal billfold from his inside pocket. He flipped it open and was sure the cop couldn’t see anything other than the badge which glinted in the light from his headlights. The cop stared at his ID for a few seconds before he lowered and holstered his gun.

  “Officer Woods, Shasta County Sheriff’s Department,” the cop introduced himself and stepped forward to shake Lita’s hand. “I’m sure you understand.”

  “We do.” Lita gave the cop a smile as he looked down at the man. There was easily a foot of height difference between them.

  “Let’s get you guys in the car so you can warm up.” Woods stepped to the side.

  Lita waited for Randy to move Burke in front of them before he followed with the sheriff by his side. After Randy opened the back door of the cruiser, bent Burke down and protected her head to put her inside, and climbed in after her, Lita addressed Officer Woods.

  “You want me in the back with them?” Lita only asked out of consideration of their size difference.

  Officer Woods looked up at him. “You’re a big ‘un, so I doubt there’d be room.” Woods chuckled.

  Lita grinned and walked to the back door of the cruiser that Randy had left open. He was sure his partner didn’t assume the sheriff was going to allow him to ride up front for the same reason.

  “All good?” Lita leaned down and met Randy’s tired gaze.

  “Yeah,” Randy replied and Lita expected the Marine in his partner answered his question out of habit as opposed to the actual truth about his condition.

  “I’m sure we will be there soon.” Lita gave Randy a smile and received a tired nod in reply.

  He shut the door and walked around the sheriff to get to the passenger door. Woods resumed his seat behind the wheel at the same time Lita got settled in the passenger seat.

  “Where in Redding are you boys heading?” Woods asked after he completed his three-point turn to take them back the way he’d come.

  How the hell the man didn’t drive them into the ditch while he turned them around was beyond Lita. It was likely the cop had enough light from his reds and blues that he hadn’t cut off until after they turned around. Still, Lita was impressed.

  “The address is in my phone, but there’s no signal,” Lita replied while he held his hands out toward the vents that were spewing deliciously hot air.

  Woods chuckled. “Yeah. We won’t get a signal for anything for another eight miles or so.”

  For anything, Lita noted. That explains why he didn’t call in his stop. He doesn’t even have a radio signal.

  “I’ll get you into town. You can tell me where to take you from there.”

  “Thanks.”

  They rode in silence as they headed toward Redding. Lita had expected the man to pepper him with questions. Most people had no idea what was involved when someone was placed in WITSEC and that usually sparked some curiosity. The fact the man’s curiosity hadn’t made an appearance surprised Lita. Not that he was complaining, but the lack of the man’s questions was curious. However, Lita didn’t spend much time examining those thoughts as he pulled out his phone to watch for the return of a signal.

  Bars returned, granted only two very small ones, at almost exactly the eight-mile mark from where Woods picked them up. Lita was relieved to see them and immediately opened his Google Maps app which he had minimized. He didn’t immediately give Woods the address to the safe house, though.

  “Is there a motel or hotel you could drop us off at until we can rent a car in a few hours?” Lita asked. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Woods, but he didn’t know the man and it was Marshal protocol to keep a safe house’s location known to the fewest people possible.

  “There is, but I can take you straight to your safe house,” Woods replied. “I know that’s not how WITSEC works, but your location is safe with me.”

  Woods fleetingly gave him a steady look before his attention returned to driving them safely on the snow-covered road. However, it wasn’t the older man’s briefly intense gaze that caught Lita’s attention. No, it was the man’s words which sparked Lita’s recognition of the cop’s knowledge of WITSEC procedures.

  “WITSEC?” Lita asked quietly.

  “Last thirty-seven years,” Woods admitted. “And, I just broke protocol.” Woods shot Lita a grin. “First time ever.”

  “I won’t report you,” Lita said seriously before he lightened his tone with his next words. “Bet that felt good.”

  Woods chuckled nervously. “Not really, but I’ve been safe for the last twelve years or so. In all honestly, it never really crosses my mind anymore.”

  Lita couldn’t imagine it would if the man had been living a ‘new’ life for the last thirty-seven years. Woods was easily in his fifties, so Lita knew the man had more than likely spent over half his life in the program. He was also sure the guy’s experience with WITSEC likely played a role in his choice of profession.

  “How long have you been in law enforcement?” Lita asked more out of curiosity than anything else.

  “About twenty-three years now,” Woods replied. “The department wants me to retire.” Woods chuckled. “But what the hell would I do to stay busy? And it’s not like driving these country roads or responding to calls that aren’t violent more times than not is any more hazardous to my health than my previous life would’ve been.”

  Lita didn’t need or even want to know the details about what happened to place Woods in WITSEC. He knew enough about the program not to doubt Woods’ claim. It was that knowledge which decided Lita’s mind over sharing the address of their safe house. So, he gave it to the man.

  “Your location is safe with me,” Woods reassured them again and this time Lita believed the man. He gave Woods a nod and was sure the cop saw it from the corner of his eye.

  Lita refocused on his phone again and typed out
an update to Fish. He gave no thought to the fact the sun was just starting to lighten the sky and there was a three-hour time difference which made it very early to send his boss a message. Fish worked some fucked up hours; more so when one of them was in the field unless they were deep undercover. So, he wasn’t surprised when his phone vibrated in his hand a moment later.

  Son of a bitch. Fish’s response started. Do you want backup?

  Lita knew Fish’s question had nothing to do with his boss doubting his skill to complete this assignment without help from the rest of the team. Offering backup to one of them when shit didn’t go to plan was just what Fish did and sometimes sent it anyway even if the agent didn’t request help. Fish had done just that when he’d sent the rest of the team to support Knight on the man’s last assignment when Slade was suspended.

  No. I’ll let you know if I do, Lita replied. Don’t send anyone, either. I’d hate to accidentally put a bullet in one of their asses.

  Fish knew he wasn’t joking, either, especially with the shit they were dealing with where the cartels were concerned. There was no room for being a smartass or joking when it came to the cartels.

  Noted, Fish’s reply came through instantly. Twenty-four hour check-ins.

  Lita still had no doubt his boss would be pulling the team into this assignment one way or another. Maybe not the entire team, but definitely Hunt. If for no other reason than to have his teammate monitor his location through the tracking device, they all willingly agreed to have inserted for their own safety.

  “All good?” Woods asked because Lita was aware the cop noticed him texting.

  “Yeah,” Lita replied and noticed they were entering Redding.

  They had picked up I-5 before they entered Redding, so Lita didn’t get to see much of the city. However, he did pay attention to where they were going as they continued north.

  “Head toward Coram,”

  Randy’s voice from the back seat broke the silence in the car. Lita looked down at his phone to verify the address Randy had originally given him. It was clearly a Redding address, so he looked over the front seat toward his partner. He wasn’t sure what to think or how to feel about Randy changing their destination. If Randy had purposely lied to him, Lita would be less than happy. However, if Randy just decided to move them further north and trusted Woods enough to take them there, Lita wouldn’t be too pissed. This could have been Randy’s plan all along for all Lita knew since he didn’t really know his partner that well.